Wonder Woman

Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.

After a few different misfires DC has finally found commercial and critical success in Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman origin story. The first three in this new DC universe were somewhat lifeless critically dismantled affairs, but not Wonder Woman. All has changed now for DC and the blueprint has been laid out for future projects.

What largely makes Wonder Woman successful is the wonderful performance of Gal Gadot as the title character, and also the great chemistry she has with Chris Pine. Pine’s character never feels out of place in the film and adds a great compliment to Gadot’s Wonder Woman. The only real gripe to be had character wise is with Doctor Poison. A character that felt a bit over the top in a film that does its best to stay grounded for the most part. While the film is grounded and feels very realistic and down to earth the last 20 minutes do fall under the overused CGI extravaganza that sadly most comic movies are cursed with.

Visually, Wonder Woman is absolutely breathtaking. The most interesting and also the most visually striking portion of the film is the beginning where we find ourselves on the hidden island of Themyscira. This was the most interesting part of the film and I was almost sad to see it end. It isn’t until Chris Pine crashes into Themyscira that the plot is set into motion. The WW1 aesthetic was also very pleasing as it is evident that significant influence is drawn from Captain America: The First Avenger.

The best quality of Wonder Woman is the sense of hope that is carried by Gadot’s portrayal of the title character. While the world in the movie is largely grey in a time of war Diana is the bright beacon of hope and positivity for all to follow. Just as Wonder Woman is bright in the grey of the rest of the DC universe.